I was lucky - I was watching that Ebay sale, which ended at $1,025. that was way higher than I was willing to spend - I've wanted to try out one of these for awhile, but given the wide disparity of opinions about it, I wanted to purchase at a price where I could recoup my expenditure if I didn't like it.

that very same night, before I went to sleep, just for the h**l of it I looked at my local Craigslist, and it turns out that someone had posted one, with a roadready ATA case, for $400. I called him the next morning, and then arranged to buy it. There isn't a scratch on it, and it works perfectly.

I actually like the synth very much - it has a great interface, and I really enjoy just tweaking it and making rather strange sounds....I think that for traditional synth sounds, some of the other similarly valued VA's would be better, but I really like this, and I think it looks great. Definitely a keeper for me.

I suspect that, while the value has gone up, you'll probably be able to get one cheaper than the recent ebay one, but you'll just have to be patient. I have a recollection that the previous one sold for somewhere in the 800's.

lumanikus wrote:Yeah ive noticed i don't see these for sale often either. I would like to have one down the road, do people keep em?Great looking too.

I think it's one that you either love or hate, or a bit of both. I've seen them up for sale somewhat frequently recently - I think there have been a few on ebay. If you're not incredibly anxious for one, I'd keep my eyes open for a good deal on one...

I think that you can find the manual online. It's worth a read. There are some cool features on it...you can record a sequence in the phrase recorder, and run 2 motion (knob tweak) recordings, and a morph all at once. And the recordings can all play for different measure lengths, tempos, and loop.

synthmax wrote:It was interesting that it got that much attention, even with the OB12 being spelled with some extraneous spaces. I don't even know how I found it!

Well, in some cases I figure that people might spell it in different ways - ob-12, ob 12, ob12, etc....so I just typed in Oberheim, and there it was. There was once an incredible deal on 3 new Waldorf Q's (just a couple of years ago, but the boxes had never been opened) - because it was spelled Waldof or something. The only reason I saw it was that someone posted it to one of the lists I was on. It was kind of the luck of the draw - I won my auction at about $500 as I recall, but someone else paid well under $400. So - yeah, in this case I was pretty amazed that there were so many bids and it went for $1,025. It's a much maligned synth, but the word is beginning to spread that it has its good qualities too.

man, it's funny. Musicians Friend was blowing those out for $699 because they could not sell these things. They were made by organ manufacturer Viscount in Italy and Tom Oberheim had nothing at all to do with it. I used to be a buyer for a music chain, we ordered a few of these. They really don't stand up to a used nord 1 or 2, or a waldorf xt... all of which you can get for about half the price of what the OB12's are going for. I own several original Oberheims and can say that they do not stand up to the original Obies. I can see where it would be a value at $400, maybe even $500, but $1000 +??? No thanks.

liquidzen wrote:man, it's funny. Musicians Friend was blowing those out for $699 because they could not sell these things. They were made by organ manufacturer Viscount in Italy and Tom Oberheim had nothing at all to do with it. I used to be a buyer for a music chain, we ordered a few of these. They really don't stand up to a used nord 1 or 2, or a waldorf xt... all of which you can get for about half the price of what the OB12's are going for. I own several original Oberheims and can say that they do not stand up to the original Obies. I can see where it would be a value at $400, maybe even $500, but $1000 +??? No thanks.

Actually, it depends on what you like and what you're looking for. Personally I'm thrilled with mine, and (gasp) would rather have it than all of the ones that you mention, especially the nords.

As for it 'standing up to' the original oberheims - I'm not even sure what that would mean. It's a totally different kind of synth. And it's technically a VA, but I wouldn't say that this is its strong point.

yup, and some people love mandolins. fluffy puppys named chester, dandy walks on an autumn eve, etc. i just don't think it deserves the name oberheim, but that is MY opinion. h**l, a matrix 6 is beefier than the ob12, a matrix 6 is still worthy of the name. it was only 2-3 years ago these were going for $300 on ebay. again, it may be the cream pie for some... cheers to those few.

liquidzen wrote:yup, and some people love mandolins. fluffy puppys named chester, dandy walks on an autumn eve, etc. i just don't think it deserves the name oberheim, but that is MY opinion. h**l, a matrix 6 is beefier than the ob12, a matrix 6 is still worthy of the name. it was only 2-3 years ago these were going for $300 on ebay. again, it may be the cream pie for some... cheers to those few.

You make several assumptions in your argument, which (despite your disclaimer) does attempt to ridicule my opinion. First of all, why consider it an oberheim synth at all? It obviously isn't. Consider it on its own merits.

You make the assumption that any synth, in order for it to be good, must be "beefy". Really? Are synths good proportionally only to this one particular quality? If you have multiple synths, might it also be nice to have synths that actually emphasize differnent qualities? You're comparing a synth whose strong points are its digital qualities, with analog synths.

However, it does do some things very well. The interface is extremely intuitive, and for the most part all of the controls are right there for you. The synth can scream, squeak, and squeal without very much effort, and part of its charm is that often in the midst of doing this, it will gasp for air, being a bit underpowered - sometimes these glitches can be rather nice. It's very easy to layer sounds, and use the various sequencing modules to sequence them all differently, and its easy to turn these things on and off while you're playing, and edit the 4 parts.

The filter actually has a nice quality, I think, but certainly, if you spend a lot on this synth seeking to emulate your analogs, or even your traditional VA's, you've bought the wrong instrument.

The fact that it was going for $300 a few years ago is relevant how exactly? Obviously the synth has gained some favor because there are a number of people who realize that the synth does a lot more than its presets indicate, that some of the problems it initially had were corrected with OS upgrades, etc. One of the things that attracted me to it is the fact that if you search user reviews of it there is exactly this great disparity - users like you who are looking for ONE thing in a synth, and think that this thing is a piece of c**p, which it is when you compare it to the nords, or the virus, and use it to emulate analog sounds. And then there are other users who really like it for reasons similar to those that I've expressed. If you want a very flexible, easy to use, timbrally interesting synth that will be very different than anything else you have, look great, and also have a quite fantastic display and workflow - well, it's worth looking into. I'd certainly say that if you've never had a chance to try one out, DON'T spend $1,000 unless you really want to potentially waste your money.

I think there are plenty of examples in synth history where what a synth couldn't do well became it's signature. I think synthesizer should me sound creation, not sound emulation. If a synth adds to the sonic palette of the setup, it belongs to be there. Plus, intuitive hands-on control is priceless! There are so many soft synths, but programming them is nowhere near is fun. And if it's no fun, then that sucks.

wow! what part did you not get when i said it was MY opinion. I think it's great that you love your ob12. really, i do. I PERSONALLY think it's an overrated, overpriced synth. I don't speak out of speculation. It's first hand experience. We got stuck with tons of these because 1. the OS was way too buggy. The few we sold came back due to problems. 2. There were other synths on the market at that time that offered more features, better sound, and more stability. Again, I hope you continue to enjoy your Oberheim. Chill bra.

liquidzen wrote:wow! what part did you not get when i said it was MY opinion. I think it's great that you love your ob12. really, i do. I PERSONALLY think it's an overrated, overpriced synth. I don't speak out of speculation. It's first hand experience. We got stuck with tons of these because 1. the OS was way too buggy. The few we sold came back due to problems. 2. There were other synths on the market at that time that offered more features, better sound, and more stability. Again, I hope you continue to enjoy your Oberheim. Chill bra.

The OS was upgraded, and I wouldn't say that it is buggy. The fact that you had some that came back because of problems is really irrelevant to whether perfectly working ones now are good synths. You emphasize that it's your opinion on the one hand, but then also speak like your experience somehow gives you objectivity. "Chill bra"...please.

I note, btw, that you have one of the most maligned synths ever - the obmx. Also not really an oberheim.

droolmaster0 wrote:The OS was upgraded, and I wouldn't say that it is buggy. The fact that you had some that came back because of problems is really irrelevant to whether perfectly working ones now are good synths. You emphasize that it's your opinion on the one hand, but then also speak like your experience somehow gives you objectivity. "Chill bra"...please.

If you don't think the OS is buggy , set the sound to unison and record a pattern via MIDI of 16th notes and listen to the timing. On mine it was like I had some random swing setting turned on and I did have the last OS that was released.

Strangely I've been thinking about picking one up again as it does sound unique in the world of VA synths but I couldn't bring myself to pay more than £250 for one.

no need to act like a little nancy. as far as the OBMX, yes that is quite the Oberheim Albatross. In fact it's at the shop right now with power supply issues. Does it sound better than the OB12, yes it does... does it work well... not nearly all the time. BUT, Nancy, I never said it was the bomb... you just crafted that on your own. I own an OB8 and a 2 voice... THOSE were what i was speaking about. Talk about jumping the gun. And yes, you can use the synth and get a good idea... the full idea of what it sounds like even if it is buggy, it just sucked when it froze all the time. Man it really sounds like you don't want me to have my own opinion. And I have many VALID reasons to not use the synth... again, what do you not understand about ALL of this being JUST my opinion. At this point I'd like to tell you exactly what you can do with your OB12

droolmaster0 wrote:

liquidzen wrote:wow! what part did you not get when i said it was MY opinion. I think it's great that you love your ob12. really, i do. I PERSONALLY think it's an overrated, overpriced synth. I don't speak out of speculation. It's first hand experience. We got stuck with tons of these because 1. the OS was way too buggy. The few we sold came back due to problems. 2. There were other synths on the market at that time that offered more features, better sound, and more stability. Again, I hope you continue to enjoy your Oberheim. Chill bra.

The OS was upgraded, and I wouldn't say that it is buggy. The fact that you had some that came back because of problems is really irrelevant to whether perfectly working ones now are good synths. You emphasize that it's your opinion on the one hand, but then also speak like your experience somehow gives you objectivity. "Chill bra"...please.

I note, btw, that you have one of the most maligned synths ever - the obmx. Also not really an oberheim.